Alivery cab (North America),private hire (UK and Australasia), orminicab (London) isa car with a driver available for hire only on a pre-booked basis. These cabs are contrasted with public-hiretaxicabs orhackney carriages, hailed or street taxis, licensed to ply streets and for hailing throughout communities. This type of transport may includelimousine services and someminibuses andshuttle buses.
The termlivery cab evolved from North Americanlivery stables which, in addition to short-term horse boarding, hired out horses, teams and wagons. A 1910Winnipeg,Manitoba, bylaw regulating transport for hire differentiated a livery cab, licensed for C$2.00 from "street cabs" that were licensed at $8.00 or $10.00.[1] The regulation stated that, "No livery cab shall stand on any of the public cab stands of the City, nor ply for hire from any such cab stand."[1] Later amendments added a prohibition on plying "on the street".[2]
InLondon the termminicab is used, whileprivate hire is used in the rest of the United Kingdom. They began operating in the 1960s in competition with hackney carriages after a loophole in the law was spotted (although in some areas it is possible to hold a dual hackney/private hire licence).[citation needed]
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Private hire vehicles are licensed under theLocal Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. Such a vehicle must be booked, for example, by telephone, internet, or fax, or in person at the registered minicab office. Private hires can be booked at the time it is required, but only at the office of a company registered to accept bookings rather than directly with a driver. Private hire vehicles may pick up anywhere in the UK as long as they are pre-booked, and the driver, vehicle and operator are all licensed in the same borough.
Since 2001 private hires have been subject to regulation in London and most otherlocal authorities. London minicabs are now licensed by TFL (London Taxis and Private Hire), or TFLTPH, formerly known as the Public Carriage Office. This is the same body that now regulates London's licensed taxicabs, but minicab drivers do not have to complete The Knowledge, and although they must undergo a small "topographical test" in order to obtain a Private Hire Drivers Licence, they generally rely onsatnavs or local knowledge to take them to the pick up and destination. All vehicles available for pre-booking by London minicab drivers must hold a private hire vehicle (PHV) licence showing that the vehicles are fit for purpose; this is updated withMOT tests twice a year after an inspection at a licensed garage. In London, new applicants must send their Topographical Test Certificate along with their application to the PH Driver Licensing Section of the TFLTPH.[3]
In the United States, livery cabs today play their most prominent role in thetransportation of New York City. Also, known ascar services, livery cabs are hired at a flat rate.[4][5] Although it is illegal, livery cabs will sometimes cruise the street and pick up riders who flag them for a prenegotiated fare, especially in theouter boroughs.[5] Around 25,000 livery cabs operated in New York in the late 2010s.[4]
A hybrid betweentraditional yellow taxicabs and true livery cabs areboro taxis orgreen cabs, formallystreet hail livery vehicles.[6] Typically operated by livery services, these cabs serve areas traditionally underserved by yellow cabs.[5]
A subset of New York livery cars areblack cars, which mostly serve corporate customers.[4]